A Bargain with the Devil
by KatLokidottir
Summary: When Tony is visited one night by a mad God of Mischief, he reluctantly agrees to a deal to keep his friends and teammates alive. But when making a deal with the God of Lies, you have no idea what you're getting into. Tony is forced to turn against the only family and team he's ever known in order to spare their lives, but what is the cost of making a deal with the devil?
1. Chapter 1

Tony exited the elevator without looking up from the lines of code scrolling across his StarkPad. His eyes fixated on the tablet, his feet blindly made their way towards where they knew (hoped) the bar was.

He let out a short cry of pain as his shin slammed hard against a coffee table in the darkness. The tablet fell from his hands, landing with a muffled thud on the carpet as he bent to rub his throbbing leg.

He straightened up, shooting one last glare at the coffee table, and scanned the room for more obstacles standing between him and the whiskey that was calling his name. His eyes swept quickly across the living area, and he froze. Silhouetted against the recently repaired picture window was a man.

"Hey, if you're one of Fury's, I just want to let you know that the Tower DOES have a doorbell AND a knocker. I mean, this is getting kind of old, you guys: breaking into one of the most secure buildings in New York without so much as a memo."

The figure turned to face him, but the only thing he could make out in the darkness was a glint of gold where the right shoulder would be.

"JARVIS, lights."

The lights flickered on, and Tony's blood ran cold.

"Oh, I'm not one of Fury's."


	2. Chapter 2

_"Oh, I'm not one of Fury's."_

Tony, realizing the danger he was in by merely being in the presence of this man bit back a sarcastic, "Duh." Instead, he inched towards the bar, where he'd hidden a gun after Loki's last visit.

"JARVIS, call all the Avengers."

The AI didn't reply. Tony shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, JARVIS?"

Loki grinned darkly, taking a step forward.

"What's wrong, Stark? Not used to a sudden decrease in power?"

Tony fought to quell the panic bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, remaining silent and continuing his slow movements towards the bar, the gun, keeping his eyes fixed on the god. He decided to take a chance.

"Hey Rudolph, you want a drink?" blurted Tony abruptly.

Loki cocked a well-shaped eyebrow at the billionaire.

"No? I'm having one."

With that, he walked at a normal pace over to the bar. He nonchalantly slipped his hand inside the drawer. In a split second, he raised, cocked, and fired the gun, right at the god's head.

He watched in horror as the god remained standing, examining the bullet pinched between his thum and pointer finger bemusedly.  
Tony quickly fired off six more rounds, all of which froze about a foot from Loki, suspended in midair. The gun fell to the ground.

Loki turned to look at Tony and smiled. He began walking towards the genius, plucking the bullets from the air like berries.

shitshitshitshitshitshitshit shitshitshitshit

Tony made a run for the elevator, coming to a halt when he found a knife quivering in the wall a mere hair's breadth from his face.

"Please don't," said Loki cooly, as though it were perfectly normal to break into one of the most secure buildings in New York and threaten an international celebrity. "I'd prefer not to have to kill you yet."

Tony swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned to face the smirking god.

"If you're not here to kill me, what are you here for?"

"Actually, I'm here to threaten you."

A laugh escaped Tony's mouth before he could stop it.

"You realize you're attempting to threaten a man who a) has been tortured, b) is a genius, and c) totally kicked your ass last time you were on Earth, along with your smurfs on steroids?"

Loki began walking slowly towards Tony, like a predator stalking its prey.

"Okay, Stark. Being a self-proclaimed genius, tell me: how long would it take for an arrogant billionaire to land, broken and mangled, on the sidewalk if a god decided to throw him out a window, hm?

Tony gulped.

"How long would it take for you to die if I decided to slit your throat?"

Now Loki was right before Tony, pressing the billionaire into the cold wall behind him. His hand came up and coiled around Tony's throat and slowly slid Tony up the wall. Tony gripped the god's wrists, trying to relieve some pressure on his neck.

"How long would it take for you to lose consciousness if I decided to close off your airway?"

Loki's free hand slid beneath the billionaire's shirt, the cold fingers cupping the arc reactor. Tony tensed beneath him.

"How long would it take for the life to fade from your eyes if I decided to yank this from your chest?" whispered the god into Tony's ear.

Tony stayed perfectly still. He knew exactly how long it would take and he was in no position to test whether the god was in a forgiving mood, so he bit his tongue and remained frozen, tense beneath Loki.

"However, I'm not here to kill you. At least not yet."

With that, Loki's hand released the reactor and Tony's neck, and Tony collapsed, panting against the floor.

"Sit," came the god's voice, as he gestured to a couch. Tony complied happily, but stayed as far from Loki as possible.

Loki sank into the chair opposite him, a faint smile on his lips. Tony wanted desperately to smack the arrogant god's smile off his face, but remained seated, not wanting to test the god's temper, seeing as how the god had almost killed him already.

"So, Stark. How are the Avengers these days?"

Tony decided one word answers were probably best. "Good."

"Really?"

Tony nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here to change that, then. You see, Anthony, I have a new goal. I would like to get rid of anyone who's ever stood in my way on this pathetic realm. And you and your cohorts are at the top of my list. That means you and your team, as well as your respective family and friends. A bit extreme, but satisfying."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Loki laughed. "Because, I have an offer for you."

Tony didn't want to know. He really didn't want to know what this "offer" entailed. However, to keep the god satisfied for the moment, he decided to take the bait.

"What sort of offer, Reindeer Games?"

"An exchange. Your life for theirs."

Tony almost fell out of his chair.

"What?! What do you mean 'my life for theirs?'"

Loki looked at the billionaire, amused.

"Your life. Your freedom, free will, will belong to me, and in return, I will spare your teammates' lives as well as that of their family's."

"Why me?"

Loki actually chuckled.

"Stark. You're a genius, a billionaire, a celebrity, and a superhero. You are the one who blew up the Chitauri, the one who taunted me first out of your pathetic team, the one who dared threaten a god. You have caused me an infinite amount of grief and I wish to repay the favor."

Tony's blood ran cold. "Return the favor." Oh, this did not bode well.

"If I refuse?"

"I will kill each of your teammates, their family, their friends as well as yours. Finally, when everyone you care about is six feet under, I will kill you, slowly and painfully, break you and remake you just to break you again, make you beg for death. And finally, I will grant it."

"If I accept?"

"You will become mine to do with as I wish, but I will spare the rest of yor family and friends' lives."

Tony closed his eyes, thinking in a panic.

_"Displays compulsive behavior, has self-destructive tendencies, and displays textbook narcissim."_

_"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."_

_"You're not the one to lay down on a wire, let the other guy crawl over you."_

_"You better stop pretending to be a hero."_

Tony opened his eyes, the usual warmth in the pupils replaced by steely indifference.

"Fine. You have a deal."


	3. Chapter 3

When the bastard smiles, I can feel the hair on the back of my neck rise. That smile isn't a normal smile that you see on friends and family and that cute little three-year old when it sees a puppy. No, this is the smile of a predator, of a cat regarding a mouse.

"Do we?" asks the god, rising from the couch. I instinctively rise to my feet as well, figuring that if Loki's going to try to attack me again, I don't want to be cornered in the armchair. But all Loki does is hold out his hand.

I look from his hand to his eyes, glittering mischievously, and back to his hand, and although every fiber of my being is screaming at me not to shake it, I reluctantly hold out my hand and clasp his, sealing the deal and effectively handing my life over to a madman. Shit.

I watch with a mixture of both fear and curiosity as small tendrils of green wrap around out wrists, hovering over the skin for a moment before sinking beneath the skin.

I glance up at the god in question, but he simply grins.

"That just made sure that you cannot go back on our deal, Stark. If you try to escape, those cords will torture you endlessly until you return, or until one of us is dead."

My eyes light up at his last words. Maybe if I can catch him unaware...

But Loki catches the look in my eye.

"Keep in mind that if I die, you will die as well, Stark. Your life is dependent on mine, but not vise versa."

Well, there goes that plan.

"Now, let's get going before my magic controlling your technology begins to wear off."

Loki grabs my arm in a bruising grip and the world flashes white. When the spots before my eyes clear, I find us in a small bedroom. I hate green, but decide to remain silent for the time being. Loki releases me, and I step away to look around the room.

It's about 10x10 feet, and has a small desk in the corner, next to a wardrobe and bookcase, and in the middle of the wall to my right, there is a bed. There's a few things about this room that immediately strike me as odd.

The room is brightly lit, but by what I don't know. There doesn't appear to be any sort of lamp or anything. It's like the light in the room is simply_ there_. The bookcase is empty, and there is nothing whatsoever on the desk save a short stack of creamy paper and a single charcoal pencil. There is only one visible door, that I determine leads to a bathroom, I find it strange, for a moment, that there is no entry (or exit) door, although I realize now that a door isn't really needed for the god, considering his magic. And everything in the room is green (and chocolate brown, in the case of furniture). Not a speck of other color anywhere.

The strangest thing about the room, however, is the bed. It looks to be a king-sized bed, four-poster, and while under any other circumstances I would be delighted to have that bed, I'm somewhat intimidated, because there's no reason for Loki to give me a bed that big. I'm his prisoner, and I'm only one person, and the bed is made for at least two...

Oh. My mouth goes dry. I sincerely hope that what I'm thinking is wrong, but somehow I don't hold out much hope on that front.

Loki's expectant voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Well?" he asks impatiently.

"Thank you," I murmur softly, knowing that this is better than what I could have gotten, and actually grateful for it. He could very well have decided to give me a stone prison, so this is a pleasant surprise.

"Master..." Loki nudges, a smirk on his face.

And there goes the gratitude.

"Thank you, master," I spit, the last word coming out venomously. It irks me that I have no choice but to do whatever he tells me, because otherwise, everyone I care about is going to die. I have to give up my own freedom and life in order to spare others their lives.

There's life as a superhero for you.

Loki doesn't respond to the poisonous reply, just turns away and begins pacing the small room in long strides, so that he turns every 4 seconds.

"You will be quiet. You will not attempt to escape this room. You will not attempt to contact anyone aside from me in any way, or your friends will pay dearly. Do I make myself understood?"

The question is rather flat, as is my answer.

"Yes." Loki turns to me and smiles before disappearing in a flash of blinding light.

I sit on the edge of the bed, and my head sinks into my hands.

Oh, Tony. What have you gotten yourself into?

Pepper's voice echoes in my head. Pepper. I miss her already, but I realize that I'm probably not going to see her again. That fact makes my heart ache.

I may be a playboy, but Pepper is special. We're more than friends, more than lovers, more than just boss and employee. We're soul mates. I would do absolutely anything for her. I actually had a ring. Saturday was going to be the big night, where I would show her what she means to me. And now she'll never know. I probably won't ever see her, or Rhodey, or any of the team, ever again. Even Fury, the eyepatched bastard, doesn't sound so bad right now.

I lift my head and stand, walking around the side of the bed and pulling the covers up over me. They're made of an incredibly soft fabric that definitely isn't from Earth, but I hardly notice, curling up beneath the emerald green coverlet and closing my eyes, desperate to escape the events of the day, and realizing I'll need my strength for whatever Loki decided to do to me, to use me for.

As Tony slips off into sleep, dreaming of the people, the family he's left behind to save, a single tear falls unbidden from beneath his eyelashes, leaving a small wet streak down the genius' face. But of course, he doesn't notice.

Loki does.


	4. Chapter 4

I awake from my nightmare, gasping for breath and sweating bullets. Thank god Loki was still on Asgard, or…

Oh. I pause as I feel the material against my skin, the green silk smoothing pleasingly against my calloused fingers as I sit up. I sigh, rubbing my eyes with my hands as I remembered the deal I'd made last night. I shudder subconsciously at the thought of Loki having such power over me, although I suppose I should be grateful that I wasn't thrown into some dark dungeon.

I throw off the coverlet and swing his legs over the edge of the bed, my toes rubbing softly against the plush carpeting, that, thankfully, was white and not green. I've only been here for a few hours and I'm already getting fairly disgusted with the earthy colors.

I stand and stretch, cat-like, trying to force any traces of fatigue out of my muscles. Suddenly, a piece of parchment, yes, parchment, lying on the other side of the bed, tied neatly into a scroll with a (surprise!) green ribbon. I snatch it up, tugging off the ribbon and tossing it to the floor as I read the note.

_Stark:_  
_Shower and change, then wait to be fetched for breakfast. Ready yourself quickly, for I am not a patient person._  
_~L.L_

I roll my eyes at his comment. Clearly he was not patient, I'd never seen him wait for anything for longer than perhaps 5 minutes. He was all about action.

I turn to the bathroom, glad that at least I get to clean myself up before going to see Loki again. He could work better, focus better, after a nice, hot shower.

* * *

I wrap the towel around my waist, running my hands through my hair repeatedly to try and dry it, because evidently, Loki hadn't thought to include a blow dryer in his accommodations.

I turned to leave the bathroom, but then paused.

Loki hadn't left me any clothes to change into. So what the hell was I supposed to wear?

I sighed, deciding that I would just wear my clothes from yesterday and point out to the god that he needed clothes if he wanted Tony to change.

I opened the door, still running my hands through my hair as I glanced down at the towel, giving it a furious glare for being freaking GREEN again.

I glanced upwards, then froze and let out a completely manly yelp as he took a step backwards.

There, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, was a young woman, probably in her mid-20s that Tony had never seen before. She had long, wavy auburn hair that flowed down to her waist, framing her face beautifully. Her skin was tanned, her muscles lightly toned but not overly obvious beneath her loose red and orange blouse and tight black jeans. She wore a leather band with silver studs around both of her wrists, tall black boots, and a beautiful pendant around her neck, the sparkling ruby encircled by a golden snake. Her eyes were a soft grey, with what looked like brown streaks running through them, her lips were plump and red. She was tall and intimidating, but curvy and slender. She was positively gorgeous.

I gaped for a moment at the stunning woman before him, before flashing her my billion-watt smile that I had perfected long ago to put off prying paparazzi and had found many, many woman in my king-sized bed the next morning.

"Well, hello, ma'am. Just who might you be?"

She leveled me with a glare, part irritation and part amusement.

"Nice try, playboy. The name's Kenna, and I'm just here to deliver your clothing and escort you to breakfast. Don't get your hopes up."

My smile fell.

"Aww, well that's no fun," I pouted.

She tossed a bundle of fabric at me, tied together with a piece of twine. I caught it easily, the bundle mere inches from my face. She scowled, evidently disappointed that it hadn't hit me in the face, and I smirked at her in return, causing her scowl to deepen.

I untie the clothing, turning tossing it onto the bed.

I glance over my shoulder at Kenna, smirking.

"You gonna watch me change, sweetheart?" I ask flirtatiously She glares, although I swear the corner of her mouth turns upwards slightly as she twirls to face the wall.

I quickly pull on the clothes, which, thankfully, are black and not that horrible shade of green. The fabric is soft, and for once, I have no idea what it is, despite my billion-dollar closet.

Running my fingers through my hair one last time, I turn to face Kenna again.

"I'm done."

She quickly turns back around, glancing around the room appraisingly.

She waves a hand in the general direction of the bed, and before I can even blink, the bed is perfectly made up.

Her gaze drops to the floor, where my old clothes are lying in a messy heap. She looks at me for a moment, a smile taking over her face.

"Pick them up."

I stare at her, appalled. "What?"

"You heard me."

Glaring furiously at her, I bend to grab the clothes, clutching them to my chest.

"Now give them here."

I smirk and throw them at her face as she had done with my current outfit, but my smile drops quickly as she raises a hand and they freeze in midair.

She snaps, and my mouth falls open as the clothes catch fire instantaneously, the ashes of my Black Sabbath tee-shirt falling gently to the ground.

"Wha- How- Why did you do that?" I ask, voice slightly higher pitched than normal with the beginnings of panic.

"Magic," she replied simply, smiling in amusement at my expression.

"You owe me a new tee-shirt," I mumble angrily.

"You're wearing it," she replies, her grin widening.

Suddenly, her arm is wrapped around my waist.

"Wha-" I begin, but before I can finish asking what the hell she's doing, the world begins spinning out of focus.

I close my eyes against the onslaught of color, feeling the odd sensation of weightlessness before my feet hit the ground hard, not the soft carpeting of my- room? cell?- but cool, smooth wood.

My eyes fly open, and I am surprised to find myself in a large dining room, Loki standing at the head of the table with a seat set next to him on the right and one at the foot.

_Well then._


End file.
